WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement after the U.S. District Court of Arizona in Tucson issued a ruling which vacated the 2020 registrations of three Dicamba herbicides– Bayer Xtendimax, BASF Engenia, and Syngenta Tavium– for over-the-top (OTT) applications for soybeans.
“Similar to what we witnessed in 2020, the Court’s last minute ruling places unnecessary uncertainty on our soybean producers ahead of the 2024 season,” said Cramer. “We are closely monitoring the situation along with the delegation, North Dakota Ag Commissioner Doug Goehring, and our state’s growers and applicators.”
Dicamba is used as a treatment to control annual, biennial and perennial broadleaf weeds in a variety of food and feed crops. While the products were previously approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the ruling claimed the 2020 registrations were unlawful. The Court found the EPA violated Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) notice and “comment mandates for issuing “new use” pesticides for OTT dicamba for drought-tolerant crops (cotton and soybean).”
Following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s previous decision in 2020 to vacate the registrations of three dicamba herbicides, the delegation worked with North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring and the administration to develop a solution for producers. In 2020, the delegation released statements after the EPA released a key order providing farmers with clarity following the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling and when the agency initially approved the registration of three Dicamba products through 2025.